Interstate border conflicts have taken aggressive turn under BJP govt in Assam, Meghalaya MP tells PM

Shillong, July 30: Amid heightened tension over boundary disputes in the northeast, Meghalaya Lok Sabha MP Vincent H Pala on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underlining that interstate border clashes have not just been on the rise of late, but have taken an aggressive turn under the BJP government in Assam.

Provocations and "aggressive posturing" at the interstate borders is perilous to healthy neighbourly relations, the Congress MP maintained. For reasons best known to the present BJP-led government of Assam, such conflicts have not only been on the rise, but have also taken a much more aggressive turn, Pala, a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Shillong, said in a letter to Modi.

Seeking the PM's intervention for establishing cordial relations between the neighbouring states, the former Union minister of state said, I sincerely urge you to address this issue at the earliest. The progress of the region has long been fought for... and it would be a matter of great regret to let that wither away. He pointed out that the recent clashes along the Assam-Mizoram border, which claimed six lives, has once again highlighted the vulnerability of peace and stability of the region.

The Meghalaya MP noted that barring Tripura and Manipur, all other states in northeast have boundary disputes with Assam. It has also given rise to wrangle over land, forest resources as well as ethnic clashes over the years, he added.